


Wedding Bells

by Oliver_Harvey



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Feels, Clint Needs a Hug, Multi, POV Bruce Banner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-24 04:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6141352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver_Harvey/pseuds/Oliver_Harvey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This is the story of how I came to marry my husband, Clint Barton." In the eyes of Bruce Banner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Year 9: Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fanspiration](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanspiration/gifts).



Year 9: 

I sighed as Romeo spoke his words of love to Juliet in her tower. Of course no-one else in drama club stood a chance at getting lead roles with Clint and Natasha having the 'most well-known' couple status. It was the same every year. The teachers would cast the play's lovers according to the most popular kids who were going out. That left kids like me, the weedy science nerds, getting parts like a shrubbery. I didn't mind being a shrub though; it meant I could admire Clint's acting and singing skills without him realising. 

"Bruce Banner! I hope my shrubbery isn't slacking?" Mr Maddens had never liked me. Now I had the entire class staring at me. Including Clint. "Of course not sir, I was thinking sir." He raised an eyebrow at me and said, "I hope you were thinking about Mr Barton here, because you could learn a thing or two from him." I looked over to Clint and his cheeks went a bit pink. Was he blushing? 

"Clint!" Natasha shouted down from her 'tower'. I watched as Clint rolled his eyes and mumbled something only she could hear. "I don't care Clint. I'm sorry but I can't be with someone who doesn't understand themselves. I'm leaving now Mr Maddens." With that, Natasha climbed down her tower and huffed her way out of the classroom. It was an after school club, but it was guaranteed that everyone would know about the split by tomorrow's registration. 

Mr Maddens followed his favourite student and left us average students sitting like plums. For some reason, I couldn't keep my eyes off Clint. I felt a shudder every time I saw him, but I didn't want to look away. I stared st the wall and thought about him for a moment. I wasn't gay or anything, but I could think he was fit, right? So many questions. Mr Maddens didn't come back before the end of the club so we packed up and went home. It was my job to turn off the lights so I left last. I thought I was last anyway. 

I closed the drama room door and fell back as I saw Clint in front of me. "Can I help you?" I stammered. He ran a hair through his short, untidy hair. Wait. Why did I even notice that? "I thinking left my phone in sir's office." He said. I don't know why I believed him, bit I led him back into the classroom, and then into Mr Maddens' office. "Can you see it?" I asked, looking around the room myself. I definitely couldn't see his phone. I opened my mouth to speak and was met by Clint's lips against mine. They were so soft. 'I'm not gay though.' But he was so warm and just. Perfect. 

Only a second passed before Clint pulled way from me and apologised repeatedly. He left the office and left me wondering what on earth had just happened. I couldn't like him that way, I shouldn't. He was with Natasha, wasn't he? But then why kiss me... Very confused, I left and went home.


	2. Year 9: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint tries to resolve the situation by making it worse. Darn hormones and feelings and emotions and life and adorable Bruce Banner!!!

A week or so after Clint's 'talk' with me, I was trying to get it out of my head and move on. Move on from him. Except being best friends with Tony Stark, the school's player, and Steve Rogers, king of gossip, meant I wasn't going to forget soon. Of course I told them what happened, but I refused to tell them it was Clint. They'd go sky high if they thought I was gay. 

"Are you sure you can't tell us?" Steve said slowly, teasing me. I rolled my eyes and kept walking. I didn't like being late for any lesson, let alone science. "Tony darling? I think he's hiding something." Steve said over my head. There were a hundred down-sides to being small, and being talked over, literally, was on of them. "I think you're right Stevie. What are you hiding Brucy?" I shoved them away from me and they were so busy laughing, they stopped walking with me. 

I turned the corridor and walked into Clint by accident. I felt myself start to blush and I tried to hurry past him. I say tried because I failed. He held my arm and pulled me aside so we were sandwiched between some lockers. If it hadn't of been for the awkward kiss a week ago, I would have loved this moment. But now it was more awkward than it should have been. Not that I wanted to be tightly pressed against Clint's body between lockers... Or did I? 

"Have you told anyone what happened?" He asked me, looking over his shoulder as if he was being followed. I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe. What's the problem?" My legs were like jello but I wanted to be confident to know why he pulled me aside. "If Nat finds out about you. Well. I'll be bullied for the rest of life, let alone school." I thought for a moment but then came to a realisation. "What about me? That you kissed me? That was all you, I'd like to point out." I was rambling now, coming up with random things to say. 

Clint looked over his shoulder again and then looked back at me, biting his lip. He sighed and then put his hands around my face, pulling me in for a lusciously deep kiss. This was time different from before. It was rushed, but it felt less like he was experimenting. It felt like... I dared to kiss him back but he pulled away a second after. His face was as red as I felt. Ok so maybe I was gay. I didn't care because that was the perfect kiss. Apart from him freaking out in front of me. 

"What?" I whispered, not quite sure what should happen. The bell rang, calling me to my lesson and I saw the relief in Clint's eyes. "Please don't tell anyone about this? About last week? I'm just confused and Nat would kill me." I only had time to register his words before he left and disappeared. I gasped to catch my breath and allowed the largest grin I could manage to appear on my face. I got myself out of the locker space and was suddenly grabbed by Steve and Tony. "Where have you been? Mr Coulson is really mad!" Tony babbled. I hear him vaguely as they dragged me to class. To be honest, I just couldn't take my mind off of Clint. He said he was confused. Confused about being gay maybe? Or confused about liking me...


	3. Year 9: Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Steve do some homework. And share thoughts. And Tony walks in. Awkward...

"So what was up with you the other day?" Steve asked me. We were sat on my bedroom floor trying to understand the maths homework. "What do you mean?" I smiled at him, confused. "What do I mean? You were almost late for lessons Bruce! You're never late so something must have happened." I rolled my eyes and scrambled my brain for something to say. "I was just distracted, that's all." 

"Just distracted?" Steve said slowly. I nodded and moved on to the next maths question. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Steve sit closer towards me. "What type of distraction?" He mumbled. I thought for a moment. "Just a distraction, you know? It doesn't matter." Steve was silent so I turned to face him. I was surprised to find him just a few centimetres away from my face. 

"Steve," I said quietly. He was looking straight at me and I could feel his breath on my skin. Steve raised his hand and held the side of my face. Like time stopped, he moved in towards me and closed his eyes. I did the same, as if it were a natural reaction, and our lips met. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before; exciting, interesting. It felt right. 

"Bruce!" My Mum called from downstairs. Steve pulled away from me suddenly just as my bedroom door opened. Tony stood in the doorway, looking from Steve to me and back. "Tony has come to see you!" My Mum shouted. Tony looked confused for a moment, but then looked like pure anger. "Did I just see that?" He said, his voice monotone. Neither me nor Steve replied. "I did, didn't I?" Tony shook his head and left my room, closing the door behind him. 

I sighed and held my head in my hands. I felt Steve place a hand on m shoulder but I shrugged it off. "This is why I was scared to tell people." I said. "Tell people what?" Steve asked. I looked him straight in the eyes and finally let myself accept who I was. "I'm gay." 

Steve smiled at me and said, "Welcome to the club. You might have guessed just now," He blushed furiously. "But I've liked you for a long time Bruce." I looked away from him, not quite sure what to say or do. Still facing the floor, Steve put his hands around my face again and kissed my softly on the lips. This time, I kissed him back. We sat with each other for a long while before we pulled apart. "I'd best be getting home now," Steve said. 

He stood up and packed his things away. I stood up and held his arm as he left my room. "What?" He asked. I kissed him quickly on the cheek. "What does this mean?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "I mean like with the kiss." My voice trailed off with embarrassment. "What do you want it to mean?" Steve asked, kissing me on the cheek. "Will you be my boyfriend?" 

I was asking one of my best friends to not just go out with me, but be my boyfriend. And it felt good, it felt like the right thing. Steve looked taken-aback but then hugged me tightly. "I'd love to be your boyfriend.


	4. Year 9: Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to heal broken wounds with Tony.

The next day, Tony avoided us both until he inevitably had to face the situation when we sat next to him in science. Our science class was small so it was only us three on the table. As he walked into the classroom, Steve held my hand under the table. "What if someone sees?" I asked in a hushed voice. He laughed and just squeezed my hand. Tony sat opposite us instead of his usual seat beside me. 

"What's your problem?" I said, making it clear I was unhappy with Tony's attitude. He tried to ignore me but then turned round to face Steve and I. "Why didn't you tell me? I'm your best friend! To both of you!" I sighed with relief. "So you're not upset about me being gay?" I whispered. Tony shook his head and seemed disgusted that I could think it. "No, I'm just pissed off that you didn't tell me, let alone that you were going out with Steve." I laughed slightly and said, "To be honest, when you walked in, no-one knew I was gay, and I wasn't an item with Steve. I didn't know I was gay myself until he kissed me!" 

It was only then that I realised the entire class had stopped talking, and was listening intently. The silence was broken as Pepper Potts entered the classroom in a hurry. "You're very late Miss Potts," the teacher said. The red-headed girl apologised and rushed over to our table, sitting down next to Tony. I was stunned as she kissed him on the cheek before getting her work out. 

"Tony," I said slowly. Even Steve had his eyebrows raised. Our usually confident friend blushed. "Well you two have each other, what's to stop me having someone?" We all laughed and introduced ourselves to Pepper. We had our friend back.


	5. Year 10: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to audition for a bigger part than a shrubbery! Huzzah I love Les Mis and so does Bruce <3 But he doesn't quite love his emotions or the situations they get him into.

I felt a mix of nerves and excitement as I waited outside the drama room. I'd tried so hard to work on my role, wanting to get my favourite part: Marius. I was called in and I performed my song the best I could. Les Miserables was my favourite musical and I'd been practising for weeks. I managed to get through "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" without crying and the drama teacher dismissed me, saying I'd get an email tomorrow. 

As I left the class I checked my phone and Steve had tried to ring me three times. I sighed and walked around the corner, almost walking straight into Tony and Pepper. "Oh, sorry," I muttered. They broke apart from each other's arms and looked rather sheepish. The corridor wasn't that big so we stood awkwardly. "I kinda need to get past," I muttered. Tony and Pepper apologised and moved apart so I could shuffle past. 

It was one thing me and Steve being together in the quiet of our homes, but Tony and Pepper were all over each other all of the time. It made Steve furious because he wanted to be like that with me, but I wasn't ready to show the world that I was gay. My phone started to ring; it was Steve. 

"Hello," I grumbled into my phone. 

"Where are you? You said you'd meet me in the park after school!" He said. 

"I had the auditions, remember?" 

He muttered something. "What was that?" I asked. 

"I said you never want to meet me anymore." 

I gasped with his comment and was tempted to hang up on him. "I see you every day, all day, at school. Then we do homework every evening! What more do you want?" 

"That's not the point Bruce. I don't know why I put in the effort when you won't even hold my hand at school. See you tomorrow." 

He hung up the phone and I swore loudly. "Woah, calm down Bruce!" I looked behind me and saw Clint. "You'd understand if you were me." He laughed and patted me on the back, standing in front of me. "What's up then?" I was about to answer and then it hit me: why was he talking to me? He'd been ignoring me since we kissed in the corridor. 

"I don't want to sound rude, but why do you care?" I said bluntly. He was taken-aback and said, "Because you're a great guy and look frustrated at something. I'm only trying to help." I looked around me to see if anyone was nearby who could hear me but the coast was clear. "You have been ignoring me since you kissed me between the lockers. DO you know what that did to me? I thought I was going crazy until Steve put it right." 

"What does Steve have to do with this?" Clint asked. "Hang on," He said. "You kissed me back! And I've only been ignoring you because I was too damn scared to approach you and talk things out. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since then." I was surprised and then remembered I was angry. "Well tough. Steve is my boyfriend and I oggled over you for the whole of year 8 and 9. Sorry but you've lost your chance to get close to me." 

I should have, but I felt hurt. I felt bad for wanting his lips on mine again. I shook away my thoughts and pushed past him. "Bruce, wait!" He grabbed my arm and spun me round, kissing me slowly and perfectly. I was going to let myself get lost in the moment and remembered my fight with Steve. My boyfriend. I pushed Clint away and wiped my mouth. "Please don't do that again," I muttered. I felt close to tears. Why was it so hard to like just one person? I liked Steve and only Steve. Didn't I? I walked away from Clint and held back the water works until I was safely hidden in my bedroom. The tears let loose and didn't stop flowing for the next hour. Why was everything so hard?


	6. Year 10: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce goes to the first rehearsal meeting. Finds out which part Clint got. Things go wrong with Steve.

I was so proud of myself for getting the role of Marius that I rang Steve straight away. "That's great news!" He said on the other end of the line. "Why don't you come round mine and we can celebrate?" I rolled my eyes and sighed. Steve wasn't too content with just kissing but I was no where near ready to move on to that next step. "No thanks, I need to get on with my homework." I heard him grumble on the other end of the line so I hung up on him. I didn't want another argument with him. 

That Friday, the cast assembled for the first time to go through how we would be rehearsing. All of the main roles had to stand up at the front and say who they were playing. I went third after Val Jean and Cosette. I wasn't too surprised to see Clint and Natasha in the audience, but they seemed surprised to see me announce I was playing Marius. Natasha stood up after me and revealed she would be Eponine. Next was Enjorlas. He was one of my favourite characters and I knew I would be able to sing a duet with him. 

I gasped as Clint stood up and said to the audience "Hi I'm Clint, and I'll be playing Enjorlas." A few of the girls swooned and Natasha sat up straighter, as if she had made him so charming. He wasn't charming, that's not what I meant. Steve is charming. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out before Mr Arthur could catch me. It was Steve. 

"Why do you keep ignoring me? I feel like we aren't even friends anymore." The text said. I laughed so loudly that I was given a stern look by Mr Arthur. "Sorry sir," I said. He carried on talking to the secondary characters whilst I gathered the courage to tell Steve exactly how I felt for a change. 

"How about me, huh? I'm fed up of being harassed by you just because we don't talk every five minutes. I'm finally doing something I enjoy so just leave me alone. In fact, consider us over. Find someone else to nag." 

After I sent the text, I turned my phone off. Steve wasn't going to ruin my love for acting anymore. I looked over to Clint who had been sat next to Natasha. Unlike last year, he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than by her side, let alone surrounded by the cooing girls. Suddenly, he turned his head and our eyes met. He gave me a look as if to say "get me out of here" to which I sniggered. Clint rolled his eyes but smiled at me. Then Natasha slapped his thigh and Clint faced her instead. My heartbeat returned to its normal rate and I left out a sigh of relief. All he did was look at me, but I felt like I'd run a marathon. I didn't feel like that with Steve. Strange.


	7. Year 10: Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce puts on an epic performance of "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" for the school's production of Les Miserables. (Refer to Josh Groban's version of the song to get an idea of what Bruce might sound like)

After six or more hours of mind-numbing education, what every person needs is another three hours of staying in the school building. I didn't mind though because it was the first full run-through of our miniature Les Miserables show. I watched from the wings when I wasn't on-stage and I did my best to ignore Clint. I felt bad for forgetting Steve even existed, but drama was what I loved. Time went by far too quickly and it was time for my solo. 

"There's a grief that can't be spoken. There's a pain that goes on and on. Empty chairs at empty tables. Now my friends are dead and gone." 

Silence fell backstage and my nerves melted away as I grew into the lyrics of the song. 

"From the table in the corner, they could see a world reborn, and they rose with voices ringing, and I can hear them now. The very words that they had sung became their last communion. On this lonely barricade at dawn." 

Even the drama teacher had stopped telling the backing singers off. Everyone was silent bar me singing to the soundtrack. 

"Phantom faces at the windows, phantom shadows on the floor, empty chairs at empty tables; where my friends will meet no more. Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me what your sacrifice was for. Empty chairs at empty tables; where my friends will sing no more." 

The backing track faded away and there was pure silence. I gulped and left the stage following my script. However, no-one went onto the stage after me like they should have done. "Sir, isn't Val Jean meant to be going on stage now?" But my teacher simply stared at me. He blinked a few times and someone took my hand, pulling me around the corner and out of sight. "Come on everyone!" I heard the teacher say. "Carry on please." 

I looked up to see Clint was the one who had dragged me away. "How long have you had a voice like that?" He said, his eyes wide with what looked like honest wonder. I shrugged my shoulders and tried not to take notice of how close he was to me. "I don't know; I've only ever played vegetation before. This is my first singing role." Clint let out a breath of surprise. 

"You mean to say that's the first time you've properly sung?" I nodded and he ran his hands through his hair. "That was amazing! Even sir was speechless Bruce!" I felt myself blush and silence fell once more. Then Clint put a hand against the wall behind me, getting ever closer to me. I could feel his breath on my skin. "It Isn't just your voice that's stunned me Banner." He whispered. He shifted the weight on his feet, like he was nervous. 

"Everything about you stuns me. Its like I'm hit with a load of bricks every time I think of you." I thought of avoiding his beautiful gaze, but at the same time I never wanted to lose sight of him. "What are you saying Clint?" I said slowly. I watched as his eyes flicked from mine to my mouth and back again. "I really, really like you Bruce." He said. Just like before but with far more meaning, he lent towards me and our lips met. Just to ruin my perfect moment, someone walked around the corner and gasped. Clint immediately broke away from me and we were both shocked to see Steve.


End file.
